Washing machine



Jan. 14, 1930. J. H. FEDLER 1,743,200

WASHING MACHINE Filed June 1. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l TIE- 1 E 1 do" 0 [4 e 20 I6a 9 I EQ- TWIN IE5.

Jan. 14, 1930.

J. H. FEDLER WASHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TIE- E Filed June 1 1926 Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH H. FEDLER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO MODERN LAUNDRY MACHINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORIPORATION OF MISSOURI WASHING MACHINE Application filed June 1,,

This invention relates to washing machines. The invention relates particularly to support for a dolly and for driving connection thereto.

The invention is employed in conjunction with a washing machine, including a tub or container member for water and clothing, an agitator and driving connections therefor, and consists in the provision of an agitator support and a driving connection therefor having such structural characteristics as to render the same readily attachable to and removable from the container, and also constructed in a manner to form a housing for a lubricant, to the end that constant and substantially permanent lubrication of the driven parts is effected.

The invention includes details of construction hereinafter more specifically pointed out.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a washing machine, broken away in part, and in part sectional, to disclose details of construction; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of' detail parts of the invention.

Further referring to the drawings, 10 is a tub or container; 11 is a circular framing member angularly fashioned, as shown. 12 is similarly a circular framing member; 13 are reach members serving as legs for the frame. 14'is a circular framing member, and 15 are relatively spaced vertical framing members serving to space apart framing members 11 and 14. The tub is related to the frame in a manner to facilitate its ready placement and removal therefrom under conditions of release hereinafter pointed out.

16 and 16 are gear case sections adapted to house gear members, including gear 17 and rack bar mechanism, generally referred to as 18, said gear case being related to the framing for ready detachable support in connection therewith, through connecting means comprising studs 19 and 20 that enable the gear case to be removed by mere release of nut members, as shown. Rack bar 18 may be actuatd by suitable gear mechanism driven from the motor. However, as such gear mecha- 1926. Serial in. 113,062.

bottom portion of the tub, to a point above the normal water line therein. 25 is a shaft member adapted to be oscillated for the purpose of imparting oscillatory action to the agitator.

Referring particularly to the manner of relationing the drive shaft to the container and the driven member for said shaft, special reference is made to Fig. 2, wherein shaft 25 is shown to be detachably seated in conjunction with gear member 26, the latter being suitably supportedin connection with gear housing 16. To facilitate the detachable relationing of shaft 25 to gear 26, the latter is provided with a lateral inseat, within which a Woodrufi key 27 is entered and secured, said key being designed to detachably enter a key- Way 28 in gear member 26, thus rendering the shaft 25 capable of being released from said gear by simple vertical lift. To the upper end of shaft 25 is attached the angularly fashioned clutch member 29, the same being designed to enter a similar angularly fashioned opening in the upper end of extension portion 23 of the agitator, said clutch member being offsetat its lower portion, to form shoulders 30 adapted to receive for seatlng,

similar shoulder portions 31 on said exten-v sion member 23. Clutch member 29 is removably attached to shaft 25 by means of the pin 32 fixed to the shaft and engaging in vertical slots in member 29.

Shaft 25 is supported and housed in conleaving a clearance space approximating the the length of the sleeve and an expandedporinteriorally fashioned for relative tion 36 thereof to provide a container for of the extension of said open space at the lower portion of the sleeve, as a spacing member adapted to sleeve in conjunction with the lower part of the agitatior for purposes of centering it to prevent lateral movement thereof under deflecting contacts during reciprocation of the agitator. In practice, the provision of the lubricant housing space within the sleeve or post 33, not only insures ample and substantially perpetual lubrication for shaft 25, but also prevents moisture condensation and attendant dripping from said sleeve or post interior, which would occur if the lubricant were. not housed Within the sleeve or post.

Bearing portion '35 extends below the main sleeve portion 33, and is exteriorly threaded to afford detachable connection with the threaded opening in sleeve support 37, the latter being connected with member 16 of the gear case. 38 is a gasket or cushioning member positioned between the lower surface of the enlar ed portion 36 and the bottom portion 39 o a container or tub. 40 is a gasket or cushioning element, which may be of an absorbent or fibrous material, seated within a recess at the upper end of sleeve member 33, and intervening between its support in said sleeve and clutch member 29. I

Theintegrated relationof shaft 25 with sleeve 33 is maintained through and by means of a cotter pin 41 entered through a perfora tion in said shaft, and bent about the body thereof in a manner to form a shoulder with respect to the lower end of bearing member 35 depending from the sleeve. By removal of the cotter pin, the shaft may be withdrawn from the sleeve. 42 is a rack bar adapted to cooperate with gear 26 to effect reciprocation of the latter.

Through and by means of the construction and arrangement of parts hereinabove specified, the post member or sleeve 33 is arranged within a container serving when entered through the bottom thereof, and attached to the gear case, to relate said members in a connected manner, and-to effect a complete closure against the escape of water from the container'. Also, through and by means of the key relationing of the shaft member to gear member 26, sleeve 33 may be unscrewed from its connection with the gear case and it, together with shaft 25, may be entirely removed from the container and disengaged from its driving gear, which detachment of said sleeve will also serve to render the container or tub member capable of removal from its framing support by simple vertical lift.

It will be noted from the drawings and preceding description that when sleeve member 33 is disposed in its normal functioning relation to the container and gear housing and sion 23, and through the proper relative spacmg as between the shoulder members of shaft clutch 29 and the bottom of the container, the agitator may be removably seated in connection with shaft clutch member 29, and its lower internal portion in sleeved contact with extended portion 36 of sleeve 33, whereby said agitator will be supported in slight clearance relation with respect to the bottom of the container and lateral shifting, as a result of actuation of the agitator, will be prevented.

What I claim is: I H

In a Washing machine, in combination, a tub having an aperture in the bottom thereof, a vertical sleeve removably seated in said aperture and extending upwardly therefrom, the interior of said sleeve being provided wit-h journal surfaces adjacent its top and bottom, and having a shoulder portion engaging the bottom of said tub in water-tight relation, a shaft journaled in said journal surfaces, the shaft intermediate said surfaces being spaced from the inner surface 'of said sleeve to provide a lubricant reservoir, a gear case threaded on to the lower end of said sleeve and holding the same in fixed upright position relative to said tub, a driving gear in said gear case 'detachably splined to saidshaft, a clutch -member detachably engaging the upperend of said shaft, and an agltator fixed to said clutch member and having a bearing surface engaging said shoulder.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JOSEPH H. FEDLER. 

